With the announcement of Valve getting into VR with the Vive headset (didn't the Rift start at Valve and Valve let the developers go after deciding not to pursue it?), the Rift nearing release (I think?) and Sony moving along with Morpheus there will be some decisions needed to be made ala VHS or BetaMax. I am a bit surprised that Valve jumped in here after Facebook spent so much on getting the Rift into their clutches. I admit I feel better with a company like Valve developing VR as opposed to Facebook where I question if they might tie it to more social media stuff vice games (and I guess movies...). The Vive is supposed to be released this year as well, hope there is some demo of it at PAXEast.

I'm honestly surprised that they're releasing the htc+Valve VR headset within the year. With Oculus pretty mum on actual release dates and Morpheus seeming to be an expo demo more than a peripheral they want to market, I'd be pleasantly surprised to see Valve be the ones to jump into the ring first.

I don't think social media will be too big a problem with the Oculus, as Facebook is already waning in popularity and any mandatory social integrations would only serve to push away the core demographic they need for that first round of Oculi, which is the hardcore PC gamer. I just think they need to announce a consumer version with a $250 or lower price point and a holiday 2015 release. With all the bells and whistles on the Valve product (extra camera sensors, 15 ft. motion trackers, handheld custom controllers for VR only), I don't see their kit being entry-level, while Oculus could easily corner the market on consumer VR.

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I'm thinking 2016 or 2017 for it to truly hit mainstream. It took a year for the XB1 and PS4 to semi-mature and get people on board, and I think this is an even steeper adoption curve. It's all going to be about the software, and it's going to take time to make those "killer apps" that get the general public on board.

(didn't the Rift start at Valve and Valve let the developers go after deciding not to pursue it?)

No, the Rift started as it's own thing. There were a couple different teams at Valve working on VR and AR, but they laid off the AR team and let some key people from the VR team leave last year (like Michael Abrash who went to work at Oculus).

Remember Steambox? Yeah, Valve still makes great games, but Occulus will be the way to go. Give Valve a lot more years for their weird and slow studio process to actually get something done.

As above, we won't see it getting serious until a year or two after major headsets release to the public, because it will take that time for the first games to release supporting it in a meaningful way.

We'll also need the hardware to match, so that extra year lets devs solidify around the XB1/PS4 hardware spec, and then PC hardware manufacturers can push it forward in terms of stability and framerate, which is key for any VR experience.

There's a whole lot of tricks used for game development that just don't work in the VR space as well, mainly a lot of texture mapping magic. So, they need time to adjust for that.

Valve should probably be considered a very serious competitor in VR. I'm quite surprised actually, as they have repeatedly claimed that they aren't working on commercial VR. They did create a very expensive demo unit that has been regularly talked about as the best way to show the potential of VR at the moment. That unit is a bit more advanced than the current Rift, and it's interesting to see that they're taking some of the ideas from it into their commercial unit. Particularly, the ability to move around physically is the most notable feature of their demo unit, and this commercial unit will support that as well.

It does sound like Valve's VR unit will be expensive though, and I suspect Oculus might beat it on price and quite likely also technical specs. We'll just have to wait and see.

Quote from: Zinfan on March 01, 2015, 10:52:42 PM

didn't the Rift start at Valve and Valve let the developers go after deciding not to pursue it?

No, the Rift prototype was made in Palmer Luckey's garage, and he certainly didn't work for Valve.

Quote from: YellowKing on March 02, 2015, 12:19:04 AM

I'm thinking 2016 or 2017 for it to truly hit mainstream. It took a year for the XB1 and PS4 to semi-mature and get people on board, and I think this is an even steeper adoption curve. It's all going to be about the software, and it's going to take time to make those "killer apps" that get the general public on board.

You're more optimistic than Oculus, then. They seem to be expecting something closer to 5 years before VR goes mainstream. They're aiming for technology enthusiasts at first, and would be very pleased with a million sales during the first year.

Also, remember that Oculus has acquired quite a bit of software development talent. They're working on things behind the scenes. We should expect some impressive software releases for VR at the same time as the Rift launches, even if we haven't heard of any of it quite yet.